UBS

If UBS’s reported exploration of a merger with Credit Suisse actually leads to a tie-up at some point, it would create a formidable European investment bank.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the pan-African development finance institution, has held investor calls ahead of its first green bond issue that Swiss franc bankers expect to launch next week.

Nvidia, the US technology company, has agreed to buy UK chipmaker Arm Holdings for up to $40bn in cash and shares, while UK security firm G4S is fighting a £3bn hostile bid from Canadian rival GardaWorld, as the coronavirus pandemic brings out buyers.

Big Hit Entertainment, the label behind hugely popular K-pop boy band BTS, this week launched bookbuilding for an IPO that will be worth as much as W962.6bn ($818.4m). The company is the latest to ride a wave of demand sweeping the country’s stock market, causing an over-heating that is pushing prices dangerously high, said bankers. Jonathan Breen reports.

Bangkok Bank sold its first Basel III-compliant additional tier one dollar bond on Tuesday, making it a rare bank capital offering from Thailand.

Times China Holdings raised $350m from a 5.5 year bond on Tuesday as a way to get ahead of its 2021 dollar maturities.

Mainland-based logistics company ZTO Express (Cayman) has hit the road with its Hong Kong secondary offering, with two other Chinese US-listed firms hot on its heels.

GardaWorld, the Canadian security service company, has made a hostile £3bn offer for larger UK rival G4S, marking the second major bid for a UK company from a North American firm in less than a week.

China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) made a splash in the bond market this week with a dual currency five-tranche deal that raised close to $3bn.

Coventry Building Society was unable to tighten its pricing for a new senior bond in the sterling market on Monday, as UK credit spreads widened on the back of the latest Brexit developments.

Epic Suisse, the Swiss real estate company, has unveiled plans for an IPO on the SIX Swiss Exchange to raise capital to fund future development projects and repay debt.

Seven Yankee banks stole a march this week in the race to frontload funding, as September got off to its usual red-hot start in dollars.